Blister packages for tinted ophthamlic lenses

ABSTRACT

A package for contact lenses having a transparent molded base and a flexible cover containing an area of color.

BACKGROUND

Contact lenses have been used commercially to improve vision since the 1950s. At first contact lenses were made of hard materials, which were relatively easy to handle and package for use, but were uncomfortable for many patients. Later developments, gave rise to softer more comfortable lenses made of hydrophobic hydrogels. Due to the popularity of these soft lenses, users are looking for more than just vision correction from the lens, they are looking for cosmetic effects as well. For the most part such effects are provided by contact lenses that are tinted with color to either enhance the color of the natural iris (know in the trade as enhancers), or to mask the color of the natural iris, (know in the trade as opaque.

Most contact lenses are packaged in individual blister packages having a transparent bowl portion and a foil top, where the bowl portion is made from a hydrophobic material such as polypropylene. See U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,691,820; 5,054,610; 5,337,888; 5,375,698; 5,409,104; 5,467,868; 5,515,964; 5,609,246; 5,695,049; 5,697,495; 5,704,468; 5,711,416; 5,722,536; 5,573,108; 5,823,327; 5,704,468; 5,983,608; 6,029,808; 6,044,966; and 6,401,915 for examples of such packaging, all of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.

Typically the foil tops of these packages are one color and most often that color is the color of aluminum foil. When a potential purchaser of a contact lens looks through the transparent bowl portion of a blister package, that user does not get an accurate representation of what that lens will look like on his or her eye. Given the number and the range of colors that are available in tinted contact lenses, it would be useful if the potential purchaser of a cosmetic contact lenses is able to look at a sealed blister package and see a good representation of how this lens would look on his or her eye prior to purchasing this lens. This need is met by the following invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of a contact lens package.

FIG. 2 illustrates a top plan view of a tinted contact lens

FIG. 3 illustrates the top plan view of a contact lens over an colored foil of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

This invention includes a package for storing contact lenses in a solution comprising, consisting essentially of, or consisting of,

(a) a transparent molded base comprising

-   -   a cavity formed in said molded base wherein said cavity         comprises an inner surface, and     -   a flange extending outwardly from the periphery of said cavity         wherein said flange comprises a top surface;

(b) a flexible cover sheet having a lens facing surface and an exterior surface where the lens facing surface of said flexible sheet is superimposed over said top surface of said flange and detachably sealed to said flange at about the periphery of said cavity to form an enclosure between said inner surface and said flexible cover,

wherein said lens facing surface comprises an area of color,

(c) a contact lens enclosed between said transparent base and said flexible cover

wherein when said contact lens is viewed through said transparent base, the contact lens covers a portion of said area of color

As used herein, the term “transparent molded base” refers to one portion of the package which may be prepared from any number of materials provided that those materials are compatible with the inspection and sterilization requirements of device manufacture. Examples of suitable materials include but are not limited to polypropylene, polyethylene, nylons, olefin co-polymers, acrylics, rubbers, urethanes, polycarbonates, or fluorocarbons. The preferred materials are metallocenes polymers and co-polymers made of polypropylene, polyethylene, having a melt flow range of about 15 g/10 minutes to about 44 g/10 minutes as determined by ASTM D-1238. The molded base is formed by any of a number of methods, which include but are not limited to injection molding. The term “cavity” refers to an unfilled space suitable for holding a contact lens and a solution. Examples of cavities are include but is not limited to the shape of the cavities in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,691,820; 5,054,610; 5,337,888; 5,375,698; 5,409,104; 5,467,868; 5,515,964; 5,609,246; 5,695,049; 5,697,495; 5,704,468; 5,711,416; 5,722,536; 5,573,108; 5,823,327; 5,704,468; 5,983,608; 6,029,808; 6,044,966; and 6,401,915.

As used herein “flange” is an area of the molded base which extends from the periphery of the cavity. In some embodiments the flange extends a distance beyond the cavity, but surface are of the flange may be small, so long as is large enough for so that the flexible sheet may be adhered to it by methods such as heat sealing and the like.

The “flexible cover sheet” can be an adhesive laminate of an aluminum foil and a polypropylene film or any other extruded or co-extruded film that can be sealed to the top surface of the flange in order to form a hermetic seal for the medical device and the solution. The flexible sheet may be made of transparent material such as adhesive laminates of one or more materials, so long as a portion of the flexible sheet contains the area of color described below. The flexible may completely sealed to the entire top surface of the flange and preferably the flexible cover sheet is sealed an area of the flange that is in close proximity to the cavity. Further the flexible cover sheet need not cover the entire top surface of said transparent molded base. The “area of color” is a portion of flexible cover sheet and is visible from the lens facing surface of said flexible cover sheet. Preferably the area of color covers a percentage of the lens facing surface of the flexible sheet , particularly the portion of the lens facing surface which sits below the contact lens when the contact lens is viewed from the transparent base, through the contact lens, to the area of color of the flexible sheet collectively known as the “viewing area”. Preferably the area of color covers about 10% to about 100% of the viewing area, more preferably about 20% to about 80%, more preferably about 20% to about 50%. The color of the area of color is preferably a color that approximates the colors of a human iris. The preferred colors of the area of color are darker colors such as brown, deep brown, black and dark grey. This color(s) may be printed on the foil or transparent laminate by any of the methods that are used to produce colored laminates.

The term “solution” refers to any liquid medium in which a medical device is stored. The preferred solutions are aqueous solutions contain physiological buffers. The particularly preferred solution is saline solution.

FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of one embodiment of the invention. These drawings are not meant to limit the invention, only to illustrate it is further detail. Transparent molded base 10, having a rectangular flange 12, having a top surface13 and cavity 11, is shown. The flexible clover sheet 14 may be attached to top surface 13 but is not in this view. The colored area 15 is shown on the lens facing surface 16 of flexible cover sheet 14. FIG. 2 illustrates the top plan view of a tinted contact lens viewed so that one is looking at pattern 17 of the contact lens. FIG. 3 illustrates a bottom plan view of the tinted contact lens enclosed between the transparent molded base and the flexible sheet, where the transparent molded base is closer to the eye of the viewer. The area of color 15 appears below pattern 17. In this case the area of color 15 is brown and if a potential user looked through the transparent molded base through the lens the user would be able to determine whether the degree of color in the pattern is suitable for his or her cosmetic purposes 

1. A package for storing contact lenses in a solution comprising, (a) a transparent molded base comprising a cavity formed in said molded base wherein said cavity comprises an inner surface, and a flange extending outwardly from the periphery of said cavity wherein said flange comprises a top surface; (b) a flexible cover sheet having a lens facing surface and an exterior surface where the lens facing surface of said flexible sheet is superimposed over said top surface of said flange and detachably sealed to said flange at about the periphery of said cavity to form an enclosure between said inner surface and said flexible cover, wherein said lens facing surface comprises an area of color, (c) a contact lens enclosed between said transparent base and said flexible cover wherein when said contact lens is viewed through said transparent base, the contact lens covers a portion of said area of color
 2. The package of claim 1 wherein the contact lens is a tinted contact lens.
 3. The package of claim 1 wherein the flexible cover is an aluminum laminate.
 4. The package of claim 1 wherein the flexible cover sheet is a transparent laminate.
 5. The package of claim 1 further comprising a viewing area.
 6. The package of claim 5 wherein the area of color occupies about 10 to about 100 percent of the viewing area.
 7. The package of claim 5 wherein the area of color occupies about 50% percent of the viewing area.
 8. The package of claim 1 wherein the area of color is selected from the group consisting of brown, deep brown, black and dark grey.
 9. The package of claim 1 wherein the area of color is selected from the group consisting of brown, deep brown, and black.
 10. The package of claim 6 wherein the area of color is selected from the group consisting of brown, deep brown, and black. 